More is better

In case you're wondering where I've been for the last few days, I've gone completely bonkers, I mean I've moved into high gear on my flower production. More is better I say. And I can only hope that guests attending the memorial celebration will take me seriously when I encourage them to take some flowers home. Otherwise I'll be peddling at the local busy intersection. And knowing the local curmudgeons as I do, there will probably be a permit required.

When I'm done with the flowers.....only a dozen left, I think......I'm going to start on the picture board.

I was browsing at Joann's the other day and I found some scrapbooking paper that I think will make good backgrounds for displaying some of the pictures on a white board. The leopard print should nicely accent the ones of my dad riding an elephant in India and a camel in Egypt. It may also work well for one of him with a big giant snake wrapped around his neck. The map print will highlight his road trips, and the bright red will make a nice background for his old black and white baby pictures. Then there are a few grandpa pictures with BCG and TG. He also played the piano, so I'll use some old sheet music for those.

I wasn't at all sure what to use to adhere these pictures to the display board. Michael's had zillions of different kinds of glue, all for a specific purpose I'm sure but not so's you'd know right off. I'd like the option of putting the photos, without glue residue, back in albums. I finally decided to go directly to the experts with my inquiry....those scrapbooking folks who frequent message boards on the internet. Several responded by suggesting I use transparent adhesive photo corners. There's just about no dilemma you can't find an answer to on the internet.

So here now are a couple of news tidbits to pass along since last I wrote. The other morning as I was leaving the condo complex on my way to Joann's, I noticed two police cars and a coroner's van parked at the corner. Not a good sign. I found out later that an elderly couple had been found shot--an apparent double suicide, although the final word is not in. Both were in failing health and with limited funds. A sad situation, but one that most folks I've talked to understand. And having had two parents who were healthy and vital until the last 5 years of their lives, and then depressed and frail and ready to go before their time, I can understand better than some.

You may remember the last time we were in SoCal there was a fire at one of the condos just down the sidewalk. Now this. Mr. G. and I are pretty sure our neighbors won't be too happy to see us coming anymore.

And then there was a news item about an Air China flight from Los Angeles to Beijing earlier this week. Seems it blew some tires on take off and had to return to the airport. This is the same flight Mr. G and I took a few weeks ago. Someone brought up the question about why they couldn't fly on to China and land there with blown tires just as easily as coming back to LAX......and certainly with much less fuel. I guess they had their reasons. There's a valuable lesson in this story however, and I will pass it along just in case someone is thinking of taking a long flight. Make sure you wait to take your sleeping pill till you're up at cruising altitude. It's kinda like when you have teenagers who've gone out for the evening. You don't want to have a cocktail or two because chances are you'll find yourself having an opportunity to get the car out of the garage at some point. Just sayin' is all......

Gardening for the totally clueless

The Great Tissue Paper Mystery is solved; I'm making paper flowers. I'm very pleased with how they're coming out. I googled "tissue paper flowers" and got some ideas, then set off on my own. They're pretty easy to make and I can provide directions if anyone's interested. I'm pretty sure Mr. G would take pictures. I'll have to wait til my broken thumb nail looks a little better though; I don't think there's anything I can do about the unattractive age spots.
I think I mentioned earlier that I'm planning a memorial celebration for dear ol' dad to be held here in SoCal in the fall. I wasn't sure what to do about flowers, and then I got the idea to do the decorating with a Mexican theme, since my dad loved Mexico and had taken several trips there....including driving his old 1957 VW bug all the way to the tip of Baja California with dear ol' mom. So the flowers will be big colorful paper ones and I'll look for some tablecloths in a variety of colors. I'm having lots of fun making these. The condo is starting to look like a flower market.

So today I had lunch with Kathy, an old friend from high school. She was in town doing lots of work on a rental house she and her husband own in the area, and she seemed happy to take a break for a walk down to the beach for lunch (not Chinese). She was interested to hear about my China trip, and we even talked about my trip to Antarctica back in 2001.

Kathy said she and her hubby enjoy traveling around the USA and Canada mostly.

"Have you been to the Grand Canyon?" she asked.

"No, never," I replied.

"How about the Black Hills?"

"Not there either," I said.

"Well, certainly you've been to Montreal."

"Nope," I said with a little grin. "I hate to say it, Kathy, but I guess I haven't been anywhere."

I'm thinking of embroidering these penguins (or as we fondly call them "pengies") on a patch for our family Christmas tree skirt. When I started the skirt, many years ago, most of the patches were childlike designs with references to BCG and TG. But now I'm thinking of adding some adult themes and including our travels. I won't have to invest much in thread for this one. Lots of black, lots of white, a little blue/gray, some yellow and a pinch of orange.

And just to follow up on something I wrote about before China, I'm pleased to report that Mr. Gadget followed my advice and did not pack his dorky black socks.
Sensible shoes with sensible socks. What a guy!

Artsy-Craftsy

Once in a while, between my knitting and dollmaking escapades, I venture into the world of arts and crafts, but usually only with some specific purpose in mind. Over the last couple of days I've been gathering supplies for a special project. Hopefully I will have some photos soon. Meanwhile, any guesses?

Yesterday Mr. G. and I took a ride down to a nearby beach town where there was a craft fair happening. A normally-busy insection had been barricaded off to cars, and as soon as we got into the fair we immediately saw this:
If you look carefully, you'll see a man roasting a pig. I'm pretty sure it's not the China pig, although I guess we'll never know for sure what with all the imports....

After we left the craft show, we decided to walk by Mr. G's old apartment which is in the same neighborhood. There's really nothing special about it.....just an ordinary apartment building among other apartment buildings.
Except this is the view across the street:

It was quite the bachelor pad back in the day. Sometimes we like to hark back to our carefree dating days.....like when we've had to bale water out of a flooded basement or deal with the antics of the terrible teens.....or shovel a foot of snow off the driveway.....or go on bat patrol.

So poor Mr. Gadget isn't feeling well today. Just about the time his jet lag subsided, he came down with a bad cold. While I was gone on my little arts and crafts odyssey, he decided to take a nap. Apparently his timing was off. No sooner had I left and he'd put his head on the pillow, the phone rang and then the smoke alarm went off twice. There was no smoke and no fire I'm happy to report. He had just changed the batteries yesterday because it had started to chirp, so I guess it was just a glitch.

You've got to wonder, though, if it isn't some paranormal activity that might be in some way related to our toaster oven in Connecticut that beeps at odd times to tell us the toast is done when no one has been doing any toasting. And then there was the whistling Mr. G heard in our basement one day when he was down there working quietly at his desk. It unhinged him a bit which was unusual, since Mr. G. is always very well-hinged. I told him maybe it was his mother paying him a visit. When she was alive, she used to enjoy telling us stories of her growing up days in New York City when her father wouldn't allow her to whistle because it wasn't ladylike.

Well, now I've gone off on a totally unplanned tangent. Mr. G is dozing on the couch. I suggested he go to bed but he says it's too early. Maybe it's a good time to start my artsy-craftsy project. The dishes are done, the jet lag is gone, and for the time being the spirits are quiet.....

The tourist

As promised, here are some touristy photos. This is Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Lest you think it's out of focus, Beijing has a big smog problem. The only blue sky we saw during the entire 12 days was this view:

We went to the Great Wall. Much of the almost-4,000 miles of it has fallen into disrepair, but there are 3 places where tourists can go. The most popular spot is at Badaling, about an hours' drive from Beijing.

It is steep and there are many vendors along the way with trinkets to sell. When I asked Gary our guide if these vendors pay the admission fee each day to get in and pester tourists, he said he didn't think so since most of the people know each other and certain things go un-noticed.

We visited the city of Xian (pronounced "she-on") to see one of the real highlights of a trip to China--the terra cotta warriors. This is an army of life-sized soldiers and horses (there are over 8,000) that was built and buried (in formation according to rank) in about 200 B.C. by the first emperor of China to protect him in the afterlife. It was discovered in 1974 by some local farmers who were drilling a well. There are many still to be unearthed. Scientists are trying to figure out how to preserve the colors. All were originally brightly painted.

We took a 3-day Yangtze River cruise from Chongqing to Yichang. We traveled about 400 miles, which represents 1/10th of the entire length of the river. We sailed through the Three Gorges--narrow spots along the river with high mountains on each side. We boarded a smaller boat, a sanpan, for a ride through the lesser (or narrower) gorges.

We traveled through the 5 ship locks of the new Three Gorges Dam, a huge project that was just completed to control flooding in the lower regions of the river.

And finally a stop in Shanghai.......

Oh, and I almost forgot....heh....heh.......a coupla real couch potatoes!

Back to crafty content next time.....and maybe a few curmudgeons......

China, continued

Here are some monks taking pictures at the Ming Tombs outside of Beijing. I can't help but wonder if they are bloggers......
And what about this group of Chinese tourists listening to their guide in the Forbidden City? There must have been a good sale on plaid hats somewhere......maybe at Walmart. I think I could be easily convinced to wear one of these. So much less dorky than those "hey-look-at-me-I'm-a-tourist" badges.....


A road crew on its way to a job site is my guess. Those orange vests will at least make them visible to the ambulance guys after they've fallen out of the truck.....

I'm pretty sure there are no fashion police in China. I'm figuring this guy is taking his girlfriend home to meet M0mma.....heh...heh....


This is the only knitter I saw in China. I watched her for a minute, then pointed to her knitting and then to me to let her know I was also a knitter. Then I pointed to my shirt and she nodded, so I think she was making a sweater. Definitely not socks.


This guy is most likely on his way to a potluck dinner and the host asked him to bring a little something.


Fallback op for those times when the tomato and tripe soup, the deep-fried chicken feet, and the incognito dishes just weren't my cup of tea.

So you're probably wondering if I took any pictures of actual tourist attractions. Yes, as a matter of fact I did. Those will be coming up next......unless they get preempted by the curmudgeons. Seems they are a worldwide phenomenon.

Now back to the regularly scheduled program....

Mr. Gadget and I have returned from our China adventure and now find ourselves firmly in the grips of jet lag. I'm not quite sure how that happened since we actually arrived home before we departed....heh...heh.... I will now pass along the very successful Macaroni Method for enduring a 12-hour airplane flight. Before you leave home, make sure you have the following items in your possession and don't be afraid to use them:

• eye shade


• ear plugs


• neck pillow


• sleeping pill

Then again, you could forego all of the above, plus the two airplane meals, and just drink six beers.....which is what the guy sitting next to Mr. Gadget did. Good thing he had the aisle seat.....

China was so much more than I expected. It's really more of an experience than a destination. Maybe sensory extravaganza is an even better description. A person needs all of her senses to take it in, and even then you feel like you must be missing something. I took over 450 photos; Mr. G. took 500 plus. I have no idea where to start......

These works-of-art are all hand-embroidered with silk thread. I've done lots of embroidery in my time, but I had to put my eyeballs up next to these to actually see the stitches. Mind-boggling.

Then there was the dumpling feast. The waiters came out of the kitchen with these steaming baskets stacked 15 or 20 high with all sorts of dumpling delights.

I'll be back tomorrow with more, but right now I need to take a nap. Then it will be time for dinner. I wonder if Mr. G. would take me out for a hamburger. Maybe I'll ask the waitress for a side order of sauteed fungus, but please hold the chicken feet......

We interrupt this blog for a trip to China....

Mr. Gadget and I are almost packed, and I'm hoping I'll have time for a little nap before we head off to the airport. We have our tickets, and you'll notice they're the old-fashioned kind.....not those new-fangled electronic tickets. Maybe there'll be some old-fashioned service too.....like maybe a pillow and a blanket, and a regular meal instead of little bags of peanuts.

We also have our dorky tour badges, but I guess we'd look like tourists even without those. Max, our regular taxi driver (he lives across the street....how convenient) will be by to pick us up at 9:45 this evening.

This morning I checked the weather for Beijing, and the forecast is for 100 degrees for the next few days. I'll try to keep a positive attitude. I'll think of it as balmy and tropical.....I wonder if they know what a pina colada is in China? If so, I think I'll be having one of those.

I'll be back.......

Chinese souvenirs

Here are a few new things I bought to take along on the China trip. Since I'll have quite a lot of stuff to carry, I really needed a new purse with more room. I also needed some new shades, since my old ones are all scratched up. And the visor seemed like a good idea because that Chinese sun is going to be pretty hot. Guess where they were all made? You guessed it! I don't see any point in actually buying souvenirs while I'm there.

Earlier today, Mr. Gadget was eating his regular lunch, which is two kinds of cereal mixed together with raisins and maybe some blueberries, when he noticed a special offer on the back of the cereal box.

Just five gold seals from the boxes gets you one of these nifty projection alarm clocks. I've always thought one of these would be fun to have, so Mr. G. said he'd save the seals and mail away for one. I know he'll do it too because he's one of those folks who's ever-vigilant about rebates. He understands that companies don't really want you to send in for rebates, so they make it extra hard by including lots of complicated instructions. Mr. G. will not be deterred. He even keeps a little tickler file so he knows when it seems they've forgotten him....and he calls to nag. I can't help but wonder, though, whether you'd really need an alarm on a clock like this. Seems like that scary skull sitting on your night table would keep you awake all night.....

So I just happened to find myself in Joann's today. That's probably because it's conveniently situated next to the bank where I had to make a travel withdrawal. I felt the need for a little diversion. And they just happened to be having a 50% sale. This piece reached right out and grabbed me, so I bought enough for a skirt.

It's slated to be the next project on my new sewing machine.....which is not from China, by the way. It hails from Taiwan......

The Mrs. gets a gadget

Mr. Gadget, in his quest to lure me over to the dark side of gadgetdom, recently bought me a new gadget of my own. I now have a west coast sewing machine. It's out of the box and sitting on a table, but I've been slow to plug it in and actually do any sewing. That's because I'm not a big fan of reading instructions. You can see I made a valiant effort. About five minutes into it I was ready for a nap. Today I will try again....right after I finish this blog post....if it isn't almost time to start dinner. I just wish my fairy godmother would wave her wand and put this information directly into my head.

This afternoon I took a ride over to the local mall to look for some items of clothing for the upcoming China trip. One of the downsides of living in two places is that what you thought was hanging in your closet here is actually hanging in your closet there. While I was out, I popped into Sears to have my watch battery replaced. The very nice clerk had me perplexed. While she was helping me and several other customers, it seemed she was carrying on a conversation with some sort of imaginary friend. Well, of course she had one of those cell phone thingies hooked to her ear, but not so's you'd notice. Her slightly bouffant hairdo completely covered it, and I was pretty sure she had little elves down under her table building things out of old battery parts and maybe giving her a foot massage.

So the other day I mentioned my fear that Tech Guy might be overextending the hospitality to a certain chipmunk who lives in our Connecticut neighborhood.

"Don't worry Mom," he told me. "He just hops in the bowl, eats some seeds, and then heads right out the door."

"But what if he runs further into the house and starts chewing on wires and stuff?"

"Oh, he won't do that," said TG. "He's a smart little chipmunk."

And earlier today I had the following conversation with Mr. Gadget....one that I'd been putting off.

"Do you have plenty of socks for the trip?" I asked.

"Yep, I'm all set," he replied.

"How about when you're wearing shorts?" I asked. "Do you have some sport socks to wear with your sneakers?" (Note to my west coast friends: We call them sneakers on the east coast, not tennis shoes....maybe you knew.....)

"Because I promise, you'll be walking alone on the Great Wall if I notice you're wearing your dress socks," I told him. "Don't even think about it."

Mr. Gadget and I get along famously, really. We are very respectful of each other's different opinions on things. But there are a few things on which I just can't compromise.....